Discovery BoxMatthew 10:11-15 
Context10:11 Whenever 1 you enter a town or village, 2 find out who is worthy there 3 and stay with them 4 until you leave. 10:12 As you enter the house, give it greetings. 5 10:13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 6 10:14 And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust off 7 your feet as you leave that house or that town. 10:15 I tell you the truth, 8 it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah 9 on the day of judgment than for that town!
1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 tn Grk “Into whatever town or village you enter.” This acts as a distributive, meaning every town or village they enter; this is expressed more naturally in English as “whenever you enter a town or village.”
3 tn Grk “in it” (referring to the city or village).
4 tn Grk “there.” This was translated as “with them” to avoid redundancy in English and to clarify where the disciples were to stay.
sn Jesus telling his disciples to stay with them in one house contrasts with the practice of religious philosophers in the ancient world who went from house to house begging.
5 tn This is a metonymy; the “house” is put for those who live in it.
6 sn The response to these messengers determines how God’s blessing is bestowed – if the messengers are not welcomed, their blessing will return to them. Jesus shows just how important their mission is by this remark.
7 sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.
8 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
9 sn The allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious than the worst sins of the old era and will result in more severe punishment.
